Energy sources for electric or hybrid drives in motor vehicles, for example high voltage batteries or fuel cells, and the components which are necessarily assigned to them have a very high inert mass due to the design. This can result in problems with the absorption or dissipation of the kinetic energy which occurs in the case of a crash: in the case of a crash, uncontrolled movements of energy sources of this type can trigger heavy damage to vehicle components which lie in the crash direction and also to the energy source itself and the components which are assigned to it. Possibly, damage to parts of the interior and possibly even injuries to the passengers can arise as a result of penetration of said energy source and/or components, for example, into the passenger compartment.
The prior art has disclosed a number of proposals which are intended firstly to protect the energy source and secondly to avoid damage of this type. For instance, DE 10 2008 027 894 A1 discloses and describes an arrangement which absorbs crash energy in a motor vehicle, in which arrangement the energy source is positioned close to a subframe, and in which arrangement a deformation element for absorbing crash energy is arranged between the energy source and the subframe. Said additional deformation element can be fastened to the subframe.
It is known from EP 2 353 971 B1 to provide the energy source with a frame-shaped structure which is to be capable of guiding crash energy past the energy source in order to protect the latter.
Furthermore, it is known from DE 10 2013 106 433 A1 to provide a special load-bearing frame for an electrically driven motor vehicle, in which load-bearing frame the energy source is accommodated such that it is protected against damage by way of special collision panels.